The Café de Paris in Paris was in its day, during the Jazz Age, world famous. It was undoubtedly the most salubrious, the most expensive and the most admired restaurant in Paris. A landmark for the gourmets and fashionables not just of Paris, but worldwide, it became part of a mini-gastronomic empire of four exclusive venues.
Tag Archives: Cafe de Paris
The White Lyres
The White Lyres
One of the first Jazz Bands to organize in Paris after the armistice following the end of World War 1 was the White Lyres. The two founding members were the Americans Bill Henley and Kelvin Keech and other members fluctuated throughout its existence. The band performed in London, Paris, the south of France, Turkey, Egypt and the rest of Europe but by 1925 it had dissipated, with both Bill Henley and Kel Keech fronting their own bands and going their separate ways.
Chez Victor
Chez Victor
One of the most exclusive members-only night-club in London in the mid to late 1920s was Chez Victor, owned and run by the Italian Victor Perosino. It had a glittering, but short, 4 year career becoming‘a popular haunt with the gilded youth and flapperdom’ before it was targeted by the police and closed down in early 1928. Victor moved across the Channel and with noticeable panache re-opened various other Chez Victor’s in Paris and elsewhere. But Victor’s story, and his deportation, hide a scandal that eventually became public in 1932
Favours and Carnival Novelties
Favours and Carnival Novelties
At special events throughout history there has always been the desire to augment festivities with novelties of all kinds, especially at special occasions like New Year and weddings. Toward the end of the 19th century as dances, balls, galas and the new concept of the smart restaurant proliferated on both sides of the Atlantic, special nights were introduced where a wide range of gifts or carnival novelties were given away as souvenirs to make the night special and stand out. Later, these ‘favours’ became indicative of the madcap nocturnal fun and frolics of the Jazz Age and the 1920s.
Cafe de Paris, London
Cafe de Paris, London
The Cafe de Paris was one of the most fashionable dining haunts in London in 1920s. Intimate and elegant it was described by Vogue magazine as ‘delightfully comfortable’ and by Dancing Times as ‘the smartest dance restaurant in London…’
The Kit Cat Club
The Kit Cat Club
The fashionable Kit Cat Club in the Haymarket, which to many people today still epitomises the gay carefree days of the 1920s, was opened in the summer of 1925 and immediately became one of the most famous nocturnal haunts in London. Decked out with the last word in restaurant and dance floor equipment it was regarded as the most sumptuous resort in Europe and was the only club in London that had been built expressly for the purpose of a club.
Fowler and Tamara
Fowler and Tamara
Addison Fowler and Florenz Tamara were undoubtedly one of America’s leading exponents of ballroom dancing in the mid 1920s through the early 1930s. Although they had an extensive repertoire it was Spanish themed dances that made their name and the fact that they looked good and had a great knack of wearing deliciously evocative costumes.
The Apache
The Apache
The Apache (pronounced Ah-PAHSH, not A-PATCH-ee, like the pronunciation of the Native American Indians) is a highly dramatic exhibition dance that became hugely popular in the Jazz Age. However, it could be seen as politically incorrect in our times due to the fact that it was rather violent, involving aggressive treatment of the female partner.
The Parisian Institution of Maxims Restaurant
The Parisian Institution of Maxim’s Restaurant
One of the most important additions to the Parisian landscape in the late Nineteenth Century was the legendary Maxim’s restaurant. It has continued to shine as a beacon of excellence for over a century and has become a symbol of Parisian elegance and chic.
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Murrays River Club: A Rendezvous of Ragtime and Romance
Murray’s River Club: A Rendezvous of Ragtime and Romance
The American Jack May was instrumental in developing the nightclub scene in London shortly before the First World War and famously opened the legendary Murray’s Club in Beak Street in 1913. At about the same time, or shortly afterward. he opened a summer resort – Murray’s River Club – at Maidenhead that became the playground for the rich and famous.
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